McKnight: How will Theo and Jed fix the Cubs' bullpen?

I think, first, I should admit something. All through the 2014 season, as Neil Ramirez was amassing 53 strikeouts in 43.2 innings of relief while holding down a 1.053 WHIP, a 1.44 ERA, a 2.46 FIP and only allowing two baseballs to leave the yard, I was asking anyone who held sway whether he'd be put in the mix for a rotation spot in the 2015 season.

I asked Theo Epstein. I asked Jed Hoyer. I asked Chris Bosio. I asked Rick Renteria. I asked Ramirez.

I think I even asked my mother.

I asked because I thought the stuff was there. Because he had a four-pitch mix. Because he'd been a starter before and because, maybe most importantly, the Cubs didn't have much in the way of controllable starting pitching.

All of them, with the possible exception of Mom, gave a fairly similar reply: "We're keeping our options open with Neil but really like what he has to offer out of the pen for right now."

At some point late last year, the Cubs made up their mind. Ramirez would be a bullpen guy. One of, they hoped, a stable of flamethrowers.

I get it now, and not just because it they badly need him back from injury.

It could just be having the Royals and their indefatigable bullpen in town, but I do recall saying when Ramirez went down that the Cubs would have to get some stellar work out of the rest of their relievers to make up for his absence.

Not having Ramirez has made Pedro Strop's ups and downs tough for the club to handle. After looking like the 2014 version through April (9.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, .067 BA), Strop's May began with an awful eight-game stretch. In 7.2 innings, Strop allowed 8 earned runs, walked five and was hit to the tune of .267.

Prior to Friday's tough outing - where his control abandoned him and the Cubs defense didn't help his line any - it seemed like Strop had rounded a corner, keeping batters to just a .125 average in 4.2 innings.

Hector Rondon's handle on the closer spot seems secure despite having given up as many home runs in 2015 as he did in all of 2014. Still, the strikeouts are there and the walks are still at the same rate as last year.

What Ramirez's injury has exposed is a lack of depth in the bullpen. Seeing it now, it's easy to see why a guy like Phil Coke was signed. It's easier to see why he was released.

So now, like everything else, the question is, "Are they ready?" This time the question is being asked of the front office. Are they ready to sell a few pieces of the future off for big time bullpen help? Or, perhaps because of the volatile nature of relievers, do they go the veteran route again? If so, maybe Rafael Soriano is worth giving a call.

Either way, the pen needs help. It's why Joe Maddon said after Friday's loss to the Royals, "It shows why they went to the World Series last year and we showed why we're not ready yet."

• Connor McKnight can be heard regularly on WGN 720-AM and is a cohost of The Beat, the station's sports talk show on the weekends. Follow him on Twitter at @McKnight_WGN.